Sibelius - En Saga - Berlin / Furtwängler

Jean Sibelius
En Saga op.9
Berliner Philharmoniker
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Live recording, Berlin, 7 & 8.II.1943

[@schaerffenberg]

From first note to last, Furtwängler brings out things in this piece no one else ever did.

[@MrFixl]

En public, cette interprétation est extraordinaire, de sublimes sonorités, une tension constante, c'est envoutant des premiers accords jusqu'aux derniers. Cette version surpasse toutes celles que j'ai pu écouter jusqu'à présent. Comment imaginer une telle maitrise tant des musiciens que de Furtwangler dans le monde, dans l’Allemagne de 1943?

[@matthewzisi300]

This is an amazing piece, and I'm grateful to Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic for performing it!

[@kennethdower7425]

Instead of wasting your comment here, why don't you take the time to write them a thank you note!

[@matthewzisi300]

@@kennethdower7425 I don't know...maybe because Furtwangler's been dead since 1954?

[@mag-wp6yt]

Only recently discovered this masterpiece. Loving it.

[@notaire2]

Tiefempfundene live Aufführung dieses nordischen Meisterwerks mit gut harmonisierten und perfekt synchronisierten Töne aller Instrumente. Der unvergleichliche Maestro leitet das weltklassige Orchester im erregenden Tempo mit künstlerisch kontrollierter Dynamik. Die Tonqualität ist auch ziemlich hoch als eine Aufnahme vom Kriegsjahr 1943. Alles ist wunderbar!

[@freddydiamant]

A great performance by Furtwangler of a work that's NOT Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Wagner

[@mag-wp6yt]

Although, one can hear all of the above in it :)

[@jerryallison6266]

Much prefer this to the 1950 Furtwangler recording. This may replace the Ashkanazy as my all time favorite recording of this beautiful Sibelius piece.

[@erlandschneck-holze6931]

... unvergeichlich: die Kunst Furtwänglers, die sehr unterschiedlichen Episoden der Tondichtung in einem durchgängigen Gleichgewicht zu halten, um das Mysteriöse/Magische der Komponistion zu erfassen ... Spannung bis zum Ende ... diese Aufnahme ist eine Entdeckung !

[@WilfriedBerk]

17:18 clarinet solo

[@lomimassageone]

Alfred Bürkner - an incredibly beautiful sound, mystic, dark, but shining nevertheless.

[@GaryLachman]

And then there was Furtwangler.

[@raphaelfournier8273]

C'est une drogue ou un poison violent. Un voyage métaphysique en tout cas.

[@donaldallen1771]

Sorry, but much as I admire Furtwangler, what he does in the final ride to the big climax is just contrary to what Sibelius wrote. After the double bar, Moderato, there is a poco a poco al stringendo to the Molto Allegro. Furtwangler does that, though he's not Molto Allegro to my ears; a bit too slow. But the problem comes a little later, where he gets faster and faster to the climax. There is no tempo change of any kind in the score, no accelerando. Toscanini and Celibidache also do this and it's just not in the score. Also, at the climax, the rhythmic pounding of the bass drum has to start FF and get louder and louder -- Sibelius wrote cresc possibile. It might be the recording, but it's just not prominent enough here. It surprises me that a number of conductors miss this, including Ashkenazy, who I think has a tremendous affinity for Sibelius. Neeme Jarvi does it right, exactly following Sibelius' instructions, as does Vanska, and the effect is absolutely thrilling. This is really an amazing piece.

[@70805060]

You're absolutely right.

[@robertssje]

This is an orchestral practice that originates in the nineteenth century. If you listen to Toscanini's ealier recording he does the same sort of thing. It was only later that he eliminated this and began to conduct like a metronome. You are hearing authentic performance practice of an earlier era. It is not in the score. It's like speech, which is never metronomic. If you really want to hear what I am talking about listen to the great Willem Mengelberg, especially his Mahler conducting. It's nothing like we hear from orchestras today. Mengelberg was Mahler's favorite interpretor of his works.

[@MyPedrodelarosa]

Reichsmusikkammer

[@larabiadelpueblo8753]

EIN VOLK,EIN REICH,EIN KOMMUNISM! :)

[@libelle176]

Horrible performance.